Supporting reading comprehension through the development of spoken language skills

According to leading academic Professor Maggie Snowling, 'Strong foundations in oral language are the key to educational success globally’. (Snowling, n.d.) Without good spoken language, children can struggle to read and write. Supporting reading comprehension through the development of spoken language skills can ensure that children have an in-depth understanding of what they have read. If we support them to understand the spoken word in all its complexity, they can then apply this to words they read on the page.   What does it mean? We know that early spoken language skills are good predictors of later reading comprehension. Children who are good at understanding the written word tend to have good spoken language skills, including: good understanding of words understanding of grammar and word order understanding of inference and verbal reasoning narrative skills, such as understanding sequences and making sense of story coherence comprehension monitoring